7 Deadly Sins: Pride
by Jesachi
Summary: The apple doesn't fall from the tree. Sesshoumaru finds himself utterly distracted by the little beauty Rin has grown up to be. So, in an effort to save his pride and be rid of her, he may just ruin the trust they've built up. Sessh/Rin pairing.
1. Beyond the Arms of a Demon Lord

~Chapter One~

Beyond the Arms of a Demon Lord

Rin huffed with frustration, plopping herself down on a rock, crossing her arms, and glaring out across the field. Ah-Un laid down in the grass next to her, offering her a soothing chortle that had her softening her features as she glanced down at the beautiful, two headed dragon that she'd named. She reached out to rub under one of his chins, finally letting herself sigh and smile slightly.

"I'm just so frustrated, Ah-un. Lord Sesshoumaru still treats me like I'm a little kid, and I don't want him to anymore. I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself. I don't need to stay behind when he goes places that he thinks are too dangerous to me…" Rin vented, turning her gaze to the sky as she spoke to the dragon.

"I don't really know why... but it bugs me when he treats me like a little girl... for... other reasons," she continued, more slowly as she continued to rub Ah-Un's chins. The dragon stared up at her with a soft devotion that had grown between the two, "I can't really explain it... I love Lord Sesshoumaru, like I always have… but it feels... weird now. And it's very frustrating when he treats me like a little girl... because I don't want him to. What does that mean, Ah-un?" Rin turned her eyes away from the sky and down to the dragon, gazing at him inquisitively.

"You're lucky you're all dragon and no human... this human stuff is really frustrating. I like being with demons and dragons much better," Rin finally said, pushing her worries from her mind.

It had been nine years since the angry hanyou Inuyasha had disappeared from the world. Lord Sesshoumaru didn't speak on it, but Jaken told her that he'd gone to get his mate, in the future world. Rin was likely twenty or twenty one now, but she didn't remember her birthday as a real human, so she couldn't be sure. Every year, on the day that Lord Sesshoumaru brought her back to life, he gave her a special gift, and so she always used that day to count herself a year older.

Life was quieter now, with Naraku gone, with Lord Sesshoumaru slowly working on becoming the top youkai in Japan. But he often left her behind, and she grew weary of it.

"Rin!" a loud, whiney voice called from a distance. Rin turned her head and grinned.

"Lord Jaken! Have you come to pick flowers with me?" Rin askd, getting to her feet. She was wearing one of the new kimono's that Lord Sesshoumaru had gotten her, a green and pink one with dragons and flowers.

"No! I don't pick flowers, human! You were supposed to stay by the river until Lord Sesshoumaru returns!" Jaken said frantically, waving his staff as he scurried over on his short legs.

"Well, I wanted to pick flowers. Lord Sesshoumaru can find me if he wants," Rin said a little bit sulkily, making a sound of contempt in her throat and turning her back to Jaken, skipping into the field of newly bloomed spring flowers. Ah-Un watched from where he sat, and Jaken let out a screech of outrage, jumping up and down and yelling about how disrespectful she was to his Lord Sesshoumaru. Rin ignored him, and started picking flowers.

* * *

Life was boring, to put it mildly. He used to wake up in the morning and look forward to something; hunting Inuyasha, killing Inuyasha, taking the Tetsusaiga, dealing with Naraku, killing Inuyasha... more plotting to kill Inuyasha... life had purpose nine years ago.

Now, it seemed like the hours blended into days, blended into weeks... years...

As much as it left a bitter, nasty taste in his mouth just to think about it, he sort of grudgingly missed the excitement that Inuyasha put into his life, however morbid that excitement was. And since the hanyou had left with his posse to tag after his mate...

So much like their father, Inuyasha was, entangled by a young human woman.

'_Don't be so quick to judge him.._.' his youkai voice perked up, _'He's not the only one who demonstrates hereditary attributes..._'

'_I don't remember inviting your opinion._..' Sesshoumaru replied coolly to that self in his head that never was quiet for long.

_'I'm just saying, don't go calling the kettle black when we both know you're a bit more than just smitten with a silly little mortal woman yourself.._.'

'_This Sesshoumaru is hardly smitten_,' he snorted, but all the same, the image of a little girl in an orange plaid kimono with a green obi danced through his head.

_"Lord Sesshoumaru, look what Master Jaken and I found!" and she would show him a bouquet of flowers she picked. One image in particular stood out to him, a time where she was losing teeth and she smiled at him her big smile, only toothless. _

Where age and time seemed to be all but lost on him, who was countless years old, time was evident only in how she aged. Somehow, he had blinked and she had gone from playful, frolicking little girl who depended on him for everything to sassy female who gave him more lip and attitude than he sometimes had patience for. She was a petulant child one minute and then the next she would do something or say something that had him realizing in a brief spurt of panic that he was far too attached to her for it to be healthy.

Which was why he was spending some time making some arrangements for her, give her a bit more human contact. She was becoming older and mortal females were usually married and having children at her age. She had been surrounded by youkai for far too long. She needed to be around her own kind. He would not have her alienated or singled out for associating with demons.

And he was convinced at if he just spent a little time away from her that he would have a clearer head when it came to being around her.

'_That is some seriously twisted logic_,' his youkai muttered darkly.

Ignoring his youkai, which is something he often did, Sesshoumaru came into view of the river where he had instructed Rin to stay with Ah-Un.

And she wasn't there.

No surprise, really. When did she ever do what she had been told? Alright, to be fair, she did used to listen to him when she was younger. But now... now she was a patience-trying impish female adult.

It wasn't hard to find her. He was so gods-be-damned in tune with her that it was disgusting. And without even tracking her scent he knew where he would find her.

Right in the middle of the field of flowers. he could just see the top of her head, her long brown ponytail dancing around in the breeze. Jaken spotted him instantly and started shouting about how he warned Rin to stay where she was told and Sesshoumaru stopped his tirade with a raised hand.

"Rin," he called to her, his voice not raising a single decibel in pitch. He knew she would hear him, "Let's go."

* * *

Rin straightened immediately, turning her head towards the voice she knew so well.

She stood for a moment in silence, gazing at him with the flowers in her hand. Then she smiled, because it was Lord Sesshoumaru, and even if she was frustrated, she could never be frustrating with him for long.

"Alright," she said happily, running through the field towards him. She wasn't wearing shoes, had never gotten into wearing shoes. When she reached her Lord Sesshoumaru, she held up the flowers for him, smiling up at him.

"Look what I made, Lord Sesshoumaru!" she told him happily, smelling the flowers. He never actually took them, those many flower bouquets that she'd made for him, but she knew, inside, that he appreciated them. "They're your favorite colors too, red, white, and yellow."

Ah-Un reached them, standing quietly next to Rin, eyeing the flowers and looking around at the same time with his two heads. Jaken hurried over, huffing and puffing.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! I'm so sorry we didn't meet you at the river! It wasn't my fault! Rin ran off, and I know you wouldn't have wanted me to leave her alone, so I had to follow her!" Jaken said frantically, jumping up and down.

Rin rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Jaken, you always blame me. How come it can't be that Ah-Un wanted to enjoy the field?" Rin asked with a slight pout to her face. Ah-Un focused both of his heads at her with a clear dragon puzzlement, and Rin giggled

"Okay, so it was my fault," Rin sighed and took one of the flowers out of the bouquet. She turned to Sesshoumaru, almost dancing on her feet, she seemed so happy. "I'm very sorry my lord," she told him without the least bit of apology in her tone. She smiled at him and reached up to tuck the flower behind his ear.

She wanted to hug him too, but touching wasn't something Sesshoumaru did. So she was careful to touch his as little as possible, then took a step back and offered him a grin, "Where to now, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

* * *

He obliged her, with a patience born only from his being a full youkai, a practiced patience that came in the bucket loads just for her and in minimal amounts for rest of the world.

He didn't so much as flinch when she put the flower in his hair and didn't make any move whatsoever to take it out. Not that he really enjoyed having silly flowers in his hair, but he was so used to complying with her childish whims and the first time he had taken the flower out in front of her she had nearly welled up into hysterics.

He opted out of doing that ever since.

"You silly girl, Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't want to have flowers in his hair! It's disrespectful!" Jaken blurted out, swinging his staff around.

Sesshoumaru pressed the bottom of his shoe to Jaken's face, successfully shutting up the vassal he was never sure why he always kept around.

"We are going to a nearby village," Sesshoumaru answered her inquiry. He offered her nothing further, as he was always pretty vague about topics of whereabouts. But in honesty, he wasn't sure how he was going to break it to her, that he was leaving her in the village... for probably forever.

Probably in the same way he told her everything; directly, with no inflection or emotion in either way.

He hoisted her up, plopping her in Ah-Un's saddle. He grabbed the reins and began to walk in the direction of the village. It wasn't a far way for him to travel; but he could move faster than a mortal eye was capable of following. At the speed in which he traveled with Rin and Jaken and Ah-un, it would take about a full day to get there.

Rin felt a thrill of pleasure when Sesshoumary lifted her up onto Ah-un. She could do it herself, of course, but he always lifted her up anyways. Either it was a habit from when she was too small, or... maybe he enjoyed it too?

Rin sighed happily, enjoy the quiet as they rode along, "Jaken, you don't know. Maybe Sesshoumaru-sama likes the flower. Have you ever asked him? That's rude of you to assume," Rin said, tilting her chin up with a smile.

Jaken's jaw dropped, and he looked from Rin to Sesshoumaru and back. "That…Rin…no!" The green youkai fell into a heap of confusion, blushing deeply. Rin giggled, looking back at him as he scrambled back to his feet and hurried after them, yelling nonsense and waving his staff.

Rin turned her attention to the dragon, tucking two flowers in his heads. "Here Ah-un... you can have some flowers too... and you look very handsome with them," Rin assured him, smiling. The dragon's stepped faltered a little, then regained their pace.

The next few hours passed in silence, and then Rin perked up at the sight of smoke, still a little ways off. "Why are we going to a village, Sesshoumaru-sama? I have enough kimonos, so that's fine. I'll wait with Jaken and Ah-un in the trees, like usual. Don't have to worry about me!" Rin said happily, watching Sesshoumaru with her bright brown eyes.

He let her assume that she would be staying with Ah-Un and Jaken as usual. He offered her no explanation, because frankly, he didn't have one.

_'This is so messed up.._.' his youkai pouted, as it had been doing on and off since he made this decision to acclimate Rin to human companions, _'I can't believe you are just dumping her like this...'_

_'I'm not dumping her..._' Sesshoumaru defended. It was early morning now; Rin and Jaken had slept on the two-headed dragon while he walked. They were not far outside the village now; the humans were just rising to start their days.

He had made some arrangements with the local inn and barkeep. Rin was to have a job there, serving travelers food and drink and arranging rooms for them. He had to admit that he may have intimidated the owner just a little bit with his forceful attitude. Rin was to have her own room, no one was allowed to touch her. And he may have threatened life, limb and certain anatomical parts crucial to reproduction should she be harmed or touched inappropriately.

'_So possessive for a guy who's abandoning her._..' his youkai muttered darkly.

Sesshoumaru ignored his inner voice and shook Rin awake, touching her shoulder, possibly the only part of her he ever touched minus when she was little.

"Rin," he whispered, eying Jaken with a touch of uncertainty. He didn't want to wake the little green youkai.

As soon as she started to stir, he placed his first finger against her mouth, a silent warning to be quiet, "Come with me," he continued in that soft whisper.

* * *

Rin woke to Sesshoumaru's gentle touch, and smiled up at him, ready to ask him where they were, but he stopped her with a touch to the mouth. She blinked, her cheeks darkening a little as she went cross-eyed to look at his finger before he took it away. The touch to her lips made her shiver weirdly, and she frowned to herself as she slid off Ah-un to follow him.

Only then did she look up and realize that they were at the very edge of the village. Like... more in a village than she'd like. She'd followed him blindly until they were actually inside the village, and as the buildings and people registered in her mind, she froze.

"Sesshoumaru-sama..." she stammered, her voice a low whisper, "Why... why are we so close to the village?" she asked, not moving any further, digging her heels in a little. People were staring at little, and up the way, a building with a sign outside of it produced two people, a man and a woman, who were watching her.

They were watching her and Sesshoumaru, and seemed to be waiting.

"Don't you want me to wait outside, my lord?" She asked again, taking a step back.

* * *

He could smell her anxiety, her fear and it was spiking his adrenaline, his protective streak for her that he had. He was going to lose all her faith with this maneuver. All the faith she had in him was going to die in the next few minutes, the first few exchanges with the couple who owned the inn.

Sesshoumaru placed his hand on her back, right in between her shoulder blades and guided her forward, though, her feet didn't move quite as readily as he would have liked.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin-san," the innkeep greeted, "We are pleased to welcome you here," he bowed low. He kept up a smile and so did his wife; they had been informed, though vaguely, that this may be a tough transition for the young woman, who had been with this youkai lord for quite some time.

"Come, Rin-san," the older woman smiled and Sesshoumaru pushed her gently towards the woman, "I'll show you where you will be staying."

He watched, coolly, as the woman took Rin's hand and led her into the inn. Inside, he could feel a nasty taste welling up in his chest, a poison setting in and he told himself that this was better. She needed this in order to lead a healthier existence and he, he needed her to be away for a while. She was a serious weakness to him and he didn't have time to be chasing around after her, rescuing her. There were youkai out there bent on his destruction and she was a very potential pawn in their plans. He had to be rid of her.

_'You... you have some seriously twisted, TWISTED logic._..' his youkai moaned in frustration as Rin was taken out of his sight, '_You better set yourself up for some misery, my friend_.'

_'I thought you were my youkai...'_ Sesshoumaru growled back inwardly as he handed over Rin's kimonos to the man.

'_I'm on her side..._' his youkai retorted and then, there was a strange silence in his head as the voice retreated.

"We thank you, my lord," the innkeep bowed again, "We are short-staffed because of the wars. She will be well taken care of."

"She better be," Sesshoumaru insisted with a little growl underlying his voice. Then, with a last lingering look inside the doorway, he turned on his heel and walked out of the village.

* * *

Confusion and fear spiked in her bloodstream. Sesshoumaru rarely touched her, and that he guided her forward by touching her back set her blood pressure reeling.

When the humans addressed them, Rin stiffened, the hair on the back of her neck rising like hackles. They knew her name. Rin looked at Sesshoumaru in a near panic, but he pushed her towards the woman, who took her by the wrist and practically dragged her into the building.

"Sesshoumaru-sama? What's going on... Sesshoumaru!" Rin called back, trying to break away, but the woman had been warned, and she was stronger than she looked. She pulled Rin into a large room with many tables. Rin was stunned by all of the civilized and human items, forgetting to fight as an innate fear of humans well in her chest.

"Come on, Rin-san... this way," the woman encourage kindly, pulling her gently towards the back, and down three steps. "Patrons live upstairs, we live downstairs."

Rin was mute as realization sunk in. She was being left here. Sesshoumaru had sold her to this place... and he was leaving. Just as she reached the doorway that led downstairs, it sunk in that she may never see Sesshoumaru again...and that he wanted it that way.

"No!" she cried, fighting the woman now as she pulled desperately, her feet scrambling against the wood floor. Her hand shot out and gripped the door frame, "Sesshoumaru!" The woman had been prepared though, and she yanked Rin past the door, wrapping Rin's smaller frame in her larger arms.

"Shhh... shhh...it's going be okay, Rin-san. You're going to like it here, I promise," the woman murmured, and Rin was trying very hard not to scream from all of the touching. Her fight died as shock sank into her bones, and she was more compliant as the woman led her to a room at the end of the hall.

"This is your room, all to yourself... my name is Tika Uahara..." The woman gently urged her inside, where a table, bed, and wash stand occupied the small but neat space. She balked at such luxury, having spent all of her active memory living in the forest.

"I'll bring some food by a little later," the woman said with a small smile, closing the door behind Rin.

She stood for a moment staring at the bed. She hadn't slept in a bed... ever. It was no more than a normal tatami mat roll and pillow... but it was a bed.

Sesshoumaru was gone.

Rin fell to her knees, and a single tear, more crying than she'd done since Sesshoumaru has rescued her all those years ago, slid down her cheek, and hit the wooden floor.

* * *

Sesshoumaru walked out of the village, with human eyes following his every footstep and he looked for all the world like a youkai lord who had done a good thing and returned a human girl to a human village.

But every crunch of gravel under his feet felt like a little piece of him was falling away.

He could hear her screaming for him, could smell her fear, her anger. She hated him now and he supposed that that was a good thing.

Why, then, didn't it feel better?

It was the scent of her tears, a scent he had only become familiar with when she hurt herself and her eyes watered from the pain- drifted out to him, carried by a light morning breeze. It had him stopping at the edge of the village, shrouded by the shadow of trees and turning his head slightly, enough to acknowledge the scent, but not enough to turn around and see what hell he had left her in.

Because if he looked back now, even he, the greatest youkai lord in all Japan, wouldn't have the strength to walk away. It was an effort as it was to put one foot in front of the other, to turn his back on her when he hadn't done so since the moment she started following him around, since the moment he had been compelled to save her.

He reached the spot where he had left Ah-Un and Jaken, where the green youkai was muttering rapidly under his breath.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken panted, running up to the dog-youkai, "I'm terribly sorry, milord! I've lost her yet again! I can't... I apologize, milord!" he stammered on and on until Sesshoumaru stopped him with a raised hand.

"Rin is gone," Sesshoumaru stated simply and he flicked his eyes up when Ah-Un turned his two heads and blinked at him with four greenish-gold eyes knowingly. The dragon had traveled with Sesshoumaru longer than even Jaken and part of the reason that the dog youkai kept the beast around was because it couldn't talk.

Though, there was no mistaking that somber look the dragon was giving him now, as if to say, _you fool, Sesshoumaru-sama._

Sesshoumaru leveled a look at him that said back, _I don't want to hear it from you too_, and Ah-Un snorted indelicately.

"Come, Jaken," he commanded, walking away, snatching the two-headed dragon's reins as he went by. Jaken, still looking like he was in a bit of shock over not having Rin around apparently, jumped to his senses and chased after the youkai lord, waving his staff and shouting.

A/N:

Welcome back! This is the SECOND installment of my _7 Deadly Sins_ series. If this is your first time reading me, please read Inuyasha's story first: _7 Deadly Sins: Wrath_.

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

I'll give you my hash, though previous readers know it already. This story was written in "roleplay" format: my co-author (goldensomething) played one character and I played another. In order to preserve the raw beauty of the piece, little editing has taken place other than spelling and what is needed to make logical sense.

As always, enjoy!

Credits:

_Sesshoumaru:_ Jesachi

_Rin:_ Goldensomething

_Sub-characters:_ Combined effort


	2. SilverHaired Knight

~Chapter Two~

Silver-Haired Knight

Three months passed. They crawled by like wet sand through an hourglass, one granule at a time. The first month was the hardest, with the hope that he'd return. The second month, she was bitter, angry... but now, she was simply... empty.

She became a machine really, working as the humans told her to, and then staying in her room, by herself. She kept her kimono in a trunk, and it was kept closed to keep the scent inside. It smelled like Sesshoumaru, and she never wore them, just in case. If she felt like she was going to lose control of her sanity, she would open it just enough to smell him.

The humans who looked after her were kind, she supposed. They did not beat her, that's for certain... and if any patron tried to touch her, they usually interfered. The man, Kitaka Uahara, looked always afraid when one of the patrons grabbed her arm or something, and rushed over to pull her away gently.

She no longer cried, not after that first night, but she wanted to, at times. Her fingers hurt from the new work they were forced to do, and her feet hurt in the shoes that she was forced to wear.

The worst, perhaps, was that the old couple often tried to get her to meet men. They would invite a guest over, a young man, and ask her to come out. Sometimes she ignored it... sometimes she didn't realize until she was already out in the inn's dining area.

She always left as quickly as she could, and she could tell that Tika was becoming frustrated. She once overheard the woman muttering about demon charms, and that Rin was enchanted by the demon who'd left her.

She disagreed... She wanted nothing to do with Sesshoumaru anymore. Or at least, that is what she told herself. She hardened her heart to him as much as she could, because it hurt too much to think that he didn't want her.

But she knew, deep down, where she protected herself from... she needed him.

Rin moved quickly in the night, carrying a basket. Often, she left the inn late to gather flowers or to walk in the woods, where she felt the most comfortable. She never kept the flowers... she always threw them in the river when she was done, knowing they'd remind her of Sesshoumaru.

She'd been out too late this time. Her feet were bare, her kimono plain, brown, but helped her blend in. Her long hair was no long in a ponytail, for the family had her keep it in a bun. But when she was out, she took her hair down, so the long tresses, falling almost to her butt, flowed behind her like water as she hurried into the village and around some buildings, heading towards the inn.

"My my!" A deep voice said, drunkenly. "It's the girl who refused to even talk to me! Hey you...what makes you so... important...that… that you think you can ignore me!"

Rin whipped around, dropping the basket as her eyes widened. The man was young, but was the oldest of those who'd been brought to her. He was perhaps thirty, and he lunged towards her, grabbing her wrist with speed that was likely only born from drunkenness.

Rin gasp, immediately digging her heels in like an animal would, trying desperately to be pulled free. She didn't utter a sound, reverting to her muteness.

"Come here, pretty thing... I won't hurt you... I don't think it will hurt... well... it might..." the man chortled and yanked her against his chest, making Rin trembled with anger and fear. She pushed hard against it with her free hand, but he'd raised her other hand high above her head, making her motions weaker.

"It'll... be fun... you'll see," the man slurred, grinning and sloppily kissing her neck. She went cold with fear now, freezing like an animal caught in a trap.

"That's right... just hold… still..." he gurgled happily, pushing her back against the nearby wall.

* * *

Three months it had been since he had dumped her off in the village.

And there hadn't been a day gone by that he hadn't come back to watch her.

He was pathetic, he wanted to admit it, but his damn pride wouldn't let him, not even to himself. Not even his youkai would admit that he was such a sap as to come and creep after her like a stalker. He had tried to resist the urge to not come back; had been successful for probably a week, before he had broken down and just watched her from the cover of the trees.

If he didn't know her by the way she walked, the way she smiled and the shape of her eyes, he would think that she would blend in with the other humans in the village. She wore civilian clothing now; not any of the elegant kimonos he had gotten for her, and shoes, which he knew made her feet bleed. And her long hair, hair that he rarely cut for her over the years unless it was so disgustingly knotted that she whined trying to brush it, was always pulled up tight now and tucked under a piece of cloth.

He knew too, that she disappeared in the evenings, going out until the dark swallowed her. In those times, she would take her hair down and disregard shoes. It was one of those times tonight.

Sesshoumaru was ducked in the brush, leaning back against a tree, one hair propped up on a raised knee. His golden eyes flickered over her as she darted out of the forest, bolting it back to the inn, a basket in her hand. She did this often, running, but he perked up, his hackles nearly raising up when a man intercepted her, a drunk male an grabbed at her wrist, pulling her around.

He braced his hand on the ground, ready to interfere as the male shoved her against a wall, pinning her hands above her head. She fought fiercely and he was mildly impressed by her ferocity. She had never had to protect herself in all the years she had been with him. He had always gone out of his way to save her.

In his head, his youkai growled viciously, demanding that he rush in there and separate the male from Rin. He was hesitant; the weeks of work that had gone into acclimating her to human lifestyles would be ruined in a heartbeat. But he couldn't bear the idea that she would be attacked and that he would have to live with the knowledge that he could have done something about it.

Sesshoumaru stalked into the village, moving rapidly, silently, until he stood behind the man who had her pinned to the wall.

"She is far more important than you," he said, his voice a half-growl, half sinister whisper as he reached around and grabbed the man's face, pulling him off Rin.

The man, in his drunken state, fell down to the ground, tripping on his own feet, "You… demon…" the male slurred out, attempting to rise, but stumbling and landing on his ass again.

Sesshoumaru helped him up… by his neck, dangling the human a good two feet off the ground. The man gurgled, his face slowly turning red, then purple, then blue then fading to white as the oxygen level decreased rapidly and his lungs began to labor in an effort to breathe. He made mad, desperate grabs at Sesshoumaru's hand collapsing his windpipe.

He felt nothing for this human, no compassion, no pity. Nothing. He hated humans, hated their greedy, disgusting habits that underlined everything they did. So why was it that he felt so gods-be-damned protective and possessive over the wisp of a mortal female he couldn't seem to stop thinking about?

* * *

Rin fell to her knees when the man was pulled off of her. She was almost instantly in a crouch, ready to protect herself at all cost. Her eyes were sharp and almost mad with animal-like fury, and her fingers were curled into little claws, as if she could scratch her way to freedom.

But all of her fight, all of her hissing and fury, drained away when she realized who it was.

As fast as she could, she was on her feet, facing the tall figure with glorious white hair and wonderful golden eyes... eyes that she dreamt about in her sleep.

She threw her arms around him, her front meeting his back as she buried her face into his clothes. She didn't even care that he was about to kill that wretched human. She stood, trembling slightly, as she hugged her demon lord from behind.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" she whispered into his back.

* * *

The human dropped dead to the ground when Rin suddenly hugged him fiercely, tightly, her face pressed into his back. It was a strange sensation, because it was very rarely that she touched him, that he touched her.

He could feel her body heat through his kimono, feel her breath as she sighed his name. He felt a tight squeeze somewhere in his chest, catching his breath. He had missed her more than he cared to admit, constantly looking over his shoulder for her like a bad habit he couldn't ditch.

It was why he couldn't stay here, why he couldn't take her with him, when he knew instinctively that she was going to ask, she was going to press the subject because he had left her with no answers.

"Rin..." he replied, gently prying her hands off of him and turning around to face her. Three months hadn't done much to age her; she still looked the same and he supposed that that would make it all the harder to walk away again. Before, he had the excuse of the old woman dragging her away so he didn't have to be the one to do the leaving.

This time though... this time would be different. He knew it was a bad idea to interfere.

* * *

Denial cried sharply in her chest, her body craving his body heat. She took a frantic step closer to him, closer than she ever normally got to him. She was breaking all of their rules, but her heart was pounding so fast and her adrenalin was making her head spin.

"Sesshoumaru-sama... thank you..." she told him, when her other words failed her. She was almost on her tip toes, staring up at his face. She wanted to ask him to let her come, she wanted to tell him she'd missed him, she wanted to say so much, but it all got stuck in her throat.

His closeness, his smell in her nose, his face, his eyes... it did something to her chest. She felt warm, and a flush filtered slowly, softly, against her cheeks. She parted her lips, to try and say all those words, but her gaze slipped from his eyes and down to his mouth, unexpectedly.

She stood a little higher on her toes, but somehow chickened out a little, because instead her hands came up, one to steady herself against his chest, the lightest touch of her fingertips, and the other to lightly touch his lips with two fingers, her eyes focused on her touch with a dazed expression. "I... feel strange..." she told him in a whisper.

* * *

His face was blank, his features stoic and as she leaned closer to him, touched his face, his mouth, he may have even leaned his head back a little to compensate for the closure of space.

But on the inside, she was rattling him.

He, the most powerful youkai in the whole country, was being torn apart at the seams by a sassy human female. Her smile, her scent. This little girl he had watched over had grown up and gotten under his skin and he wasn't quite sure how, when he never let anyone close enough.

She could single-handedly lead him to his destruction, just like Izayoi had led his father to his destruction.

He couldn't let this happen. This couldn't… it was why he had put her in the human village, to get away from her or else someone would come around to challenge his title and exploit her as a weakness. He wouldn't go the same path as his father; and he wouldn't subject her to the stigma that Izayoi had.

Charmed by a demon, a whore.

That knowledge would lend him the strength to walk away from her.

He brought his hand up to hers and gently removed it from his mouth, his eyes glued to hers, intense molten gold. He put her hands at her sides and leaned in close, his breath feathered over her cheek, her ear, "You still have to stay here," he whispered back, dropping her hands.

Then, he turned on his heel and walked away, left while he still could, before his resolve completely wavered and he dragged her out of the village and plopped her on Ah-Un and took her away from here.

* * *

Rin's eyes widened in shock, and it wasn't until the darkness had eaten his form that she realized what he'd said. She'd been too distracted by her warm and strange feelings, and his breath against her cheek, to realize that he was leaving her again.

"No! Sesshoumaru-sama!" She ran after him, but in the darkness, her weak human eyes stood no chance, and after twenty minutes of looking, she could find him nowhere. Sharp tears sprang to her eyes, this time from frustration, hurt, and anger. She refused to let them fall, shaking her head to dispel them as she curled her hands into fists. "How... how dare you leave me here!" she yelled out into the woods. "I'll never forgive you!"

She turned on her heel and ran all the way back to the inn. She didn't stop until she was locked into her room, her heart pounding and her fingers shaking. So many emotions swirled in her chest, anger, hurt, frustration... and determination.

Rin moved over to the bed, falling onto it with her eyes tightly shut. "Sesshoumaru... you... you can't just... dump me like garbage…" she whispered to herself, refusing to cry, refusing to feel anything. She pushed it all aside... and formulated a plan.

* * *

A/N

WHOO HOO! Another chapter!

A quick note about Rin and her "strange feelings". Being raised by Sesshoumaru since she was a small child, she never exactly got the "birds and the bees" talk. She avoided human villages so therefore she was never exposed to what affection might look like. And she ESPECIALLY has no idea what sex is. It's not like she had girlfriends to sit down with and gossip about this thing. My best guess at this is that when she hit puberty, Sesshoumaru probably explained it as briefly as he could, that she was an adult now and capable of choosing a mate and having children. Rin, being her personality, would never question him and even if she did, he wouldn't deem her an answer. Overall, the take home here is that she's had little exposure to lust, sex and affection and doesn't quite understand those feelings when they occur to her.

There, I'm done. :)

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

Credits:

_Sesshoumaru:_ Jesachi

_Rin:_ Goldensomething

_Sub-characters:_ Combined effort


	3. Runaway

~Chapter Three~

Runaway

In the morning, the dead man had been discovered. The village went into defensive mode, thinking a demon was preying on them. But when two more nights had passed, the mood of the village calmed down again. It took Rin those two nights to get everything she needed... everything that would allow her to leave this village.

The night before she planned to leave, she approached Tika when the inn had quieted. She rarely spoke, if ever, and the woman looked up in surprised when Rin quietly said her name.

"Tika-sama…" Rin said, blushing and looking down. "What does... what does it mean when your stomach flips over at seeing a man?" Her fingers were tangled together in front of her, betraying her nervousness.

Tika frowned, leaning on her broom, "Depends, my dear. Are you confusing this feeling with excitement, perhaps? Elation?"

Rin puckered her face a little, her eyes still averted, "No, it wasn't excitement. It was warmer, like, your stomach gets hot and tingly and it's deep in the bottom," she laid a hand over her lower abdomen, above her womb, "And you just want to be in that person's space, you know… touch them…"

Tika was quiet for a moment, and if Rin had looked up, she would have seen the woman's face light with surprise... and then happiness.

"Well... it could be lust, my dear," Tika answered, putting her broom away. She glanced up, at her husband who was still cleaning, and took Rin's hand. "Come... let us talk."

Rin was led to the woman's room, and stood quiet as Tika explained things to her. The things that she said made Rin's face change rapidly across the spectrum of color; pale to flushed, confused, even gasping in shock. She was told what it meant to be attracted to someone, and what could happen from it. She was told about sex, about babies, and about the dangers.

They talked for a few hours, with Rin mostly quiet. Tika could guess when the girl was confused or had a question, and explained this gently. By the end of the talk, Rin was blushing so hard that she had no more blood left in the rest of her body... only in her face. She thanked the woman and hurried out, to her own room, and shutting the door.

She felt... attracted... to Sesshoumaru. She didn't know when her feelings had changed from childhood affection to... well... more than that, but she knew they were. And she knew that Sesshoumaru could never feel that way about her. He hated humans... and he didn't want her around anymore.

Hardening her heart a little, Rin packed up the stuff she'd gathered into a bag she'd stolen. She had enough food for a week. She took only one kimono with her, leaving the rest hidden under the bed.

She was certain that after their encounter a few nights ago, Sesshoumaru wasn't around. He wouldn't try to stop her, and he wouldn't care either way. So Rin went to bed for a few hours, woke before dawn... and left.

She headed east, away from the mountains. She knew there were woods that way, and she felt safer in woods. She didn't even look back as the village disappeared in the distance. She wore no shoes, her hair was up the way she liked it, in a ponytail, and she wore her village clothes, only because they wouldn't be as noticeable.

If Sesshoumaru didn't want her, then...then she didn't want him. She could make it on her own. She was strong. Nodding to herself, she felt a little relief to the weight that had been placed on her heart.

* * *

He stayed away from the village for three days, finding that he didn't have the mental strength to go back and torture himself into watching Rin from a distance.

Yet, after those couple of days, he found that he didn't have the resolve to stay away either.

He, Inu No Taisho Sesshoumaru, was in a conundrum over a human female. Even Jaken had noticed something strange with the dog youkai, but the green demon's fierce loyalty and blinded respect for Sesshoumaru refused to let him see further than maybe just a little stress.

But he was more than stressed. He was rattled. And it was frustrating him to no end. How dare he become so attached to a human? He hated humans, hated them and their weaknesses and their undermining ways, their tasteless, tactless, violent tendencies, their selfishness. He blamed Izayoi and Inuyasha for the death of their father, the last Inu No Taisho, because he had become weak to a mortal woman, a human.

And yet, how hypocritical of him; he was heading down the same path that his father had taken straight to destruction.

No, he was more than heading; he was sprinting headlong without so much as a backwards glance.

Gods damn it.

Guilt had settled deep in his stomach and it was the driving force that had him heading back to the edges of the forest to watch Rin again.

'I'll never forgive you!' she had shouted in the forest after she had frantically searched for him. He had watched, avoided her, as it wasn't so hard to remain hidden if he deemed it necessary. But her words shrieked through his head like an echo and he still felt that burning sensation in his chest, spreading like poison through him, corrupting his cool head, his better judgment.

He came to the village in the evening, just when the sun was setting and there was a little activity in the inn. He disguised himself in the shadows, watching, waiting, from this angle, he could see her room, the little window.

But something was different tonight.

He lifted his head and pointedly sniffed the air. Her scent was here, naturally, but today, it didn't seem quite as strong, didn't have so much presence like it usually did...

There was movement in her bedroom. Sesshoumaru watched as the innkeeper's wife entered the bedroom, then left frantically. He tuned his hearing to listen to their conversation as the wife approached the husband, who was outside sweeping. She was speaking rapidly, moving her hands to animate her speech.

So, according to the wife, Rin was not in the inn.

Sesshoumaru cursed mentally. That was why her scent was not as prominent.

She had run away.

Stupid child.

* * *

She didn't know if Sesshoumaru would follow her, but she knew, from his very own training, what it took to leave an ambiguous trail... so she did, not only for him, but for the humans. She didn't want them finding her.

So she walked up river streams, backtracked a little, and then moved through the trees for a while once she reached the forest. She'd become quite the little forest-walker by the time the sun set. She'd traveled all day, stopping only to eat a meal halfway through.

Now, concealed by the dense trees of the dark forest, she felt more secure. She had very little fear of wild animals, and bandits were less likely to hang around a forest where no travelers passed through for them to rob. The only thing she had to fear were youkai.

Just the same, she decided to sleep in the trees, and she managed to make a small nest for herself in the crook of one.

Now that she'd stopped moving, though, her thoughts moved away from where she was going, which branch to jump to, and instead she thought of... Sesshoumaru.

Her chest hurt at the thought of him. She wished she were small again, things were less complicated then. Not only was she not allowed to be with him, she realized, from what Tika said, that if she did stay with him, she'd only get hurt more. She said that when you were attracted to someone, you wanted to be with them in a certain way... romantically. So that you can kiss and touch them all you want. A relationship. But she knew that Sesshoumaru wouldn't ever feel that way about her... And she wouldn't want to want something she could never had.

Or at least, that was what she told herself. It was easier than thinking about not having Sesshoumaru with her at all, whether as a friend or more.

Rin sighed, tilting her head back to look at the sky. Being older made everything more complicated. She remembered the day that she'd started her monthlies... Sesshoumaru had burst into the clearing where she'd been with Jaken and Ah-un, thinking she was in trouble, only to have to explain awkwardly what she needed to do to stem the flow.

She blushed a little, tilting her head to the side, getting comfortable. That had been very awkward, especially looking back. But that was in the past... now she had to figure out what to do without Sesshoumaru. She didn't want to live with humans and she couldn't live with youkai... so what could she do without him?

* * *

In the distance, a youkai was indeed following Rin. Sesshoumaru hadn't been the only one who'd kept an eye on this little human. Another youkai had noticed, and had noticed even earlier when the human girl had left the protection of the village.

He'd intended to take her anyway, but this was an even better opportunity. He could do better than kidnap her... perhaps he could win her over to his side. That would give him an advantage of that bastard Sesshoumaru.

The cougar youkai moved carefully through the trees, following her as silently as the wind did. When she stopped for the night, he stopped a distance away, watching. He would approach her soon, during the day, when she wouldn't be as frightened.

Juro smirked, settling down in the tree. Things took a turn for the better...and soon, he would be the taiyoukai.

* * *

He wasn't about to allow her to escape his well-laid plan so easily.

But damn, she knew how to lose a scent.

He taught her well, he supposed, leading by example was sometimes the best form of teaching. He knew she would be backtracking, wading through rivers to make her path less discernible.

But she was working against the elements; he had the nose of a bloodhound and he was going to find her and bring her little mortal ass back to that village and explain to her the importance of her staying there.

At least, that was what he told himself.

Sesshoumaru told Jaken and Ah-Un to stay behind while he conducted this mission. Though, it had been a little hard to tell the green youkai to stay now that Rin was gone and Jaken had no one to look after. But what Sesshoumaru-sama said, went and here he went, chasing after Rin for defying his strategy to keep her out of his life.

Surely, she was doing this on purpose, having the last laugh while she controlled him with her feminine wiles.

He scoffed at that, traversing through the woods, following her scent. This Sesshoumaru would not be controlled by anything, least of all feminine wiles of a mortal girl.

* * *

Rin rose when the sun did, and started moving through the forest soon after. She walked on the ground now, humming softly to herself. The sun was filtering through the leaves, and it was warmer than it had been, which put her in a surprisingly good mood.

It was almost midday when she finally stopped to eat, convinced even more by the presence of a small stream. She planned on wading up river after she ate, to help lose her trace even more. She was halfway through her meal when her senses tingled and her hackles rose, and she was on her feet in an instant.

"Don't worry... I mean you no harm," a cool, smooth voice came to her ears, and she looked a little to her left to see a man emerged from the shadows of the woods. She tensed even more, because she knew instantly that he was a youkai. He had marks on his perfect hands, which ended in sharp claws. His eyes were golden, though more brown than Sesshoumaru's. His hair was the same color of his eyes, slicked back and tied at the base of his neck. He was shorter than Sesshoumaru, but a little thicker. When he offered her a smile, small fangs peeked past his lips.

"I just saw you here, and I thought it must be a sign..." the man continued, stopping where he was, holding his hands out before him. Around his waist was his mokomoko-sama, a deeper gold and not as fluffy as Sesshoumaru's. Rin took a step back, her muscles tense, her eyes sharp, her lips pulled back a little to bare her teeth.

"Well, you seem certainly scared of me, but truly, you have no need," the youkai continued, and sat down where he stood, his hands visible the whole time.

"What do you want?" Rin asked, a little growl in her voice, "I'm just a travelling human."

He held up his hands, "I'm seeking a wife. I'm terribly messy, and I need someone to look after my lair when I'm out... I need someone to take care of me, and you seem very capable of taking care of someone... and besides, just as I started my search for someone to help me, I happened on you... it is a sign from the kami," the man continued, smiling softly. Rin felt herself relax just a fraction, because he could have clearly and easily have killed her by now.

"Why would you want a human?" Rin finally asked after a moment, her eyes skirting around him in case her had friends.

"Do you think a youkai woman would clean up after a messy cougar youkai like me...?" The youkai asked with a drawl, perking an amused brow.

Rin stopped to consider his words, straightening from her half-crouch. Well that did make a lot of sense, but she had been raised on the belief that trust should never be given lightly. The youkai sighed and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head and lounging for all of the world, "I see you don't trust me... I understand that, but honestly, what do you have to lose? You're alone in the woods, I assume you have nowhere to go, and if I wanted to eat you or kill you...I definitely could have by now. I just want someone to take care of my lair. You can leave whenever you want... at least come see it before you judge."

Rin glanced down at her pathetic food and clothes, and then back at him. He spoke the truth, and she'd always found youkai to be far more honest and honorable than human men... most of them, anyways. It couldn't hurt to go with him.

So slowly, Rin packed up her stuff, and then took a few steps closer to him. She stopped a good distance from him, and he graciously got to his feet and indicated a direction into the forest. "You follow me, and you can leave whenever," he said with a small smile to her, and with that he turned his back to her and started walking.

She was a little surprised. She was so unused to smiles and warmth that she stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. He also willingly showed her his back... youkai very rarely did that, and it meant he trusted her...perhaps she would trust him.

Just a little...

Rin followed at a distance, moving quietly. She didn't see the small youkai behind her, hired by the cougar youkai, getting rid of her scent with its own highly pungent smell.

* * *

Sesshoumaru didn't hurry in his travel to find Rin. He was confident that she wouldn't go far. She was a fast runner for a human, probably from spending the majority of her life walking and keeping up with him.

He walked through the night, assuming that she would rest at some point and he could catch up with her relatively easily. But he came to a spot by a river and something was strange.

There was a disgusting smell in the air; youkai and a very faint trace of Rin's scent mixed in. And as he got further along, Rin's smell began to disappear completely.

Sesshoumaru stopped, frowning. This was the work of youkai. But what was going on, why would Rin simply wander away with youkai around? Because she grew up with him, she had a very natural distaste for other demons. It seemed very unlike her to go along with one or be deceived by one. And why was her scent dropping off the face of the earth, replaced with such a pungent smell?

This was definitely suspicious.

He was determined to get to the bottom of this.

It seemed logical to follow the almost tangible scent of the youkai in an effort to find Rin. But he had to think like this youkai, naturally, they would want to leave a false trail. It made sense to follow in the other direction…

It was time to get serious. He would make a clean sweep of the area. And he wouldn't stop until he found Rin.

Something suspicious was going on and this Sesshoumaru was going to get to the heart of it.

* * *

A/N

I got nothing to say, except, as always, ENJOY.

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

Credits:

_Sesshoumaru:_ Jesachi

_Rin:_ Goldensomething

_Sub-characters:_ Combined effort


	4. Lurking In The Shadows

~Chapter Four~

Lurking in the Shadows

Three days passed. It wasn't a long time, for a youkai, but already Juro had noticed a difference in his new little pet. The girl was warming to him, but then, that tended to happen when one spent lavish attention on a woman. He was giving her everything that the cold, heartless Sesshoumaru did not.

And still, she did not trust him fully. He had time... he had lots of time. He could easily have kidnapped the girl and tortured her to gain an advantage over Sesshoumaru, but then the demon may be even more determined to kill Juro... if he thought that his pet no longer loved him, no longer wanted or needed him, perhaps the great Inu no Taisho would be disheartened.

And that was exactly what Juro wanted.

So he began the rumors in the forest. He encouraged the other, lesser youkai to talk about the little human girl who hummed happily as she cleaned a youkai's lair. He encouraged the spread of her happiness, in hopes that Sesshoumaru would hear of it.

He even hoped that the dog demon would come himself, to his lair, and see Rin happily cleaning. He doubted, with Sesshoumaru's pride, that he would try to take Rin back, not after he scorned her. That would make him seem weak, as if he'd made a wrong choice in letting her go.

Juro chuckled, slipping into his lair holding a flower and a wrapped kimono, "Rin! Darling, I'm home," Juro announced playfully, hiding his disgust of the little human excellently. He had contemplated taking her as a mate, just to rub it in Sesshoumaru's face, but he couldn't bring himself to mate with a human... he couldn't sink that low, not even for the taiyoukai... or could he?

Juro shrugged it out of his mind as he smiled calmly at the girl who turned around to offer him a tentative one. She put down her broom, and her eyes skirted over the gifts. A small frown filtered into place, and she looked confused.

"What are those for?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"They are gifts, for the wonderful woman who has made my lair so fresh and clean," Juro told her with amusement, holding out the kimono until she hesitantly took it. He then tucked the flower into her hair, and stood back. "It's not a big deal, just a little show of gratitude."

"Oh... well, thank you very much," Rin said with a genuine smile, opening the Kimono to reveal a dark blue and green Kimono. "It's... beautiful," Rin told him, touching the silk material.

Normally, her kimonos were always in Sesshoumaru's colors... reds, whites, yellows... And it made her heart ache suddenly, to hold a kimono with such an opposite color scheme.

Truthfully, the lavish gifts and attention that Juro had been bestowing on her had been refreshing and wonderful at first, but were now starting to wear on her.

As much as she hated to admit it, she liked the way that Sesshoumaru gave her space... It made his attention all the more precious.

But considering she was mad at the dog youkai, she beamed happily at Juro. She told herself that she should be happy with this youkai, because he actually seemed to care about her. It was a better place for her to be...Juro didn't seem like the type to dump her somewhere because he didn't need her anymore.

"It's lovely, than you Juro," and she steeled her, leaning up to kiss his cheek lightly, then move away. Touching someone still strange like Juro made her skin crawl, but she told herself she had to get used to it. Her back was to the youkai, arranging the kimono in her little trunk that he'd given her, so she didn't see his smirk of utter satisfaction.

Only days after his began his search for Rin he started hearing whispers through the trees. As he came through their territory, other, lesser youkai would scamper away from him, hide their families. But he could still hear them, hear their gossip.

It was how he knew he was getting close to her, to Rin.

There had been whispers of a human girl taken in by a generous cougar youkai. It was said that he had been lost, deserted and he had picked her up and taken her in, cared for her and that she was happy.

It could have been any human female. But really, what human female went willingly with a youkai male?

Only one who didn't know the dangers of youkai males. Only one who had never been in a truly threatening situation involving male youkai.

Only Rin.

And it sent his blood on fire with anger that she would run away with a youkai.

_'Do you smell that?'_

Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered up to take in the surroundings, the only indication that he was remotely paying attention to this youkai voice. It had been two weeks; two weeks of endlessly searching in vain for his sassy female human. And as of yet, he had had no catch of her scent, no indication that she was still alive except for the rumors he still heard.

He lifted his face and sniffed pointedly, a light breeze catching and bringing with it a hundred different smells, a hundred different situations.

But there, the hintest, barest flutter, the scent of flowers.

And Rin.

It was a nibble, hardly a scent to follow at all, but it was the first instance in which he had anything to go on at all. The flowers were more potent that her. But he knew, from years of spending time with this little girl, that where there were flowers, so was she.

Two and a half weeks, she'd been with Juro. She was warming to him. He was not Sesshoumaru, yes... but he treated her wonderfully, paid so much attention to her, and he was kind. If she could not be with Sesshoumaru, then this was where she wanted to be.

She was still mad at that dog-demon of hers. And as often as her little voice told her that he wan'ts hers... she couldn't stop thinking of him as hers. Sesshoumaru had always been hers... he was with her, and she loved him, first as... well... something else, and now differently.

She sighed, so deep in her thoughts as she was picking flowers that she didn't the rustle in the trees. She hadn't been able to go flower picking in a long time, and she'd been very excited when Juro had told her about the field.

But of course, she didn't know that Juro had also lured a bear... and angry bear... into the area. She had no idea that Juro lurked nearby with the intent on rescuing her, to further his plan on getting her trust.

But then, he also didn't know that Sesshoumaru was near. He'd spend too much time hunting down, and then pissing off, a huge bear.

So as Rin leaned down to pick a particularly red flower, she didn't noticed the huge bear lumbering out into the field, it's eyes crazed with madness. Her thoughts were focused inwards.

That is, until the bear roared. And then it had her full attention as Rin dropped the flowers instantly, twirling around with widened eyes. She caught sight of the bear barreling towards her, and it took only a second to react. Scrambling like a surprised cat, she took off in the opposite direction, letting out a scream of surprise and fright. She ran as fast her as her little feet could carry her.

He could smell her. She was so close.

Rin.

The flowers were overwhelming in their scent, but he could smell her. And he could smell youkai. Bear youkai.

A nudge of panic seated itself deep in his chest, as the scent of the bear became almost entangled with the smell of her and the flowers. There was something else there too. He could swear he could smell another youkai presence, feel another powerful youki brushing against his.

But a scream tore through the air, washing away all thoughts of suspicion. It was Rin, he knew it. He could see the field through the trees, see the hazy outline of a bear lumbering after a small figure, racing across the field to the opposite side he was at.

He pulled out his sword, ready to exterminate the beast before it could so much as sniff her...

Juro waited a little longer, to make his save all the more effective, but then he smelt... dog.

He panicked, shooting out of the tree he hid in like lightning. Sesshoumaru was near, that bastard! Juro grit his teeth as he flew through the trees towards the field.

No matter... he was closer.

Juro grinned briefly in triumph as he spotted Rin through the trees, running, and Sesshoumaru wasn't close yet. He masked that grin and replaced it with a scowl of concentration as he burst out of the trees, catching Rin up by the waist. He hoisted her up against his chest, holding her close, and dashed out of the way of the bear.

The bear youkai wasn't fast enough to realize what had happened, and before he could properly turn around, Juro whipped out his sword and slashed through the air, slicing through the deep fur.

But he knew Rin wouldn't want to see death, so he spared the youkai, who stumbled from the pain, snapped out of his rage, and scurried off into the woods.

Satisfied, Juro landed in the grass, holding Rin to his chest, and looked down at her, "Are you okay, darling?" he asked, and she blinked up at him with wide, dark eyes.

Sesshoumaru caught the cougar youkai's scent before he saw him. But when the youkai scooped up Rin and sliced at the bear, Sesshoumaru pulled up short, turning swiftly on his heel and ducking into the shadows.

So, the rumors had indeed been somewhat accurate. Rin was mixed up with another youkai male. He sniffed again and a scent of relief tingled through him. The male hadn't taken Rin as his mate.

He, Sesshoumaru, didn't want to even explore why that knowledge brought him such relief. He peeked around the tree, keeping skillfully out of sight as he observed the pair. That youkai was holding her so carefully, so close to him, rubbing his scent all over her and she wasn't pulling away, or fidgeting from such close contact with a stranger...

He didn't realize his hackles were raised until he felt the deep rumbling of a soft growl coming out of his throat. A burning feeling entered his chest, trickled out to the tips of his fingers until he felt them itching to wrap around that cougar youkai's neck and throttle him for touching his Rin.

His Rin.

Sesshoumaru steeled his features, a dowsing down his spine, cooling his malicious thoughts. He had intended to approach her, to take her back to the village where she should be, but if he took one step towards that field, surely, someone was going to die.

Rin didn't realize how close they were, and how much of them were touching, until he asked her that question. She blinked up at him, feeling instantly like she needed to back up, but she held herself still.

Wasn't this what she wanted from Sesshoumaru? She'd wanted it, when she'd hugged him from behind. Her whole body had thrummed with happiness... with warmth.

But she felt nothing for Juro.

A part of her was disappointed. She knew, from the way Sesshoumaru disliked touching, that she would never get this from Sesshoumaru, and now that she knew, from Tika, that men and women who wanted each other did this... she was hoping she could find it elsewhere.

She liked looking at Juro, he was attractive to her... but she felt nothing.

She offered Juro was true smile, because she was truly grateful that he'd saved her. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks," she told him, stiffening a little when he continued to hold her.

Juro knew that Sesshoumaru was watching. It made him want to flaunt Rin all the more, hold on to her longer, but he could tell that Rin didn't like it.

And he needed her trust more than he needed to piss off Sesshoumaru, so he released her, setting her on her feet and holding her at arm's length, but he didn't release her shoulders, leaning down to look her over, as if he didn't know that she was fine. She waited patiently, and then he smiled at her, putting as much care into his expression as he could, hoping the dog bastard would see.

"I'm so glad you're okay... I shouldn't let you wander off into such dangerous areas without some kind of protection," Juro told her, but Rin smiled at him and shook her head.

"No, it's okay, I just wasn't paying attention," Rin answered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'll pay better attention from now on... thank you so much, Juro-san."

Juro almost purred with satisfaction. She was smiling at him like he was all the world, and her true man was watching. She also called him san... a term an endearment. Not the one he wanted her to use, he would have loved to have seen Sesshoumaru's face if she'd called him master, but he would live with what he got.

"Come, darling... let's go home," Juro said, holding out his hand to Rin, who nodded and took it. He lifted her up, into his arms, and took off for his lair, grinning in his head. For he knew that Sesshoumaru had too much pride to come after her now. No... he wouldn't want to admit that he actually cared about the human, not when his excuse that she wasn't being cared for it gone.

Sesshoumaru had just seen proof that his little "human" was being taken care of, and that he was free of conscious to walk away... and his pride would make him do just that.

For now.

Perhaps for a long time...during which he would win Rin over.

He needed to walk away from this, needed to stop watching...

But it was like watching someone get brutally slain; it was hard to tear his eyes away.

She seemed so perfectly content to be with this male. She even used a title for him and that itself made Sesshoumaru grind his teeth together in an effort to maintain calm. She smiled and held his hand with all that naive child-like innocence she had somehow managed to maintain. She trusted too easily, her only enemies had only ever been enemies of Sesshoumaru, people who had done him wrong.

Goddamn it. She was well-provided for here. It was hardly justifiable to take her away from here when there was nothing really wrong...

Except that she was with another youkai male and it was setting his teeth on edge, grinding a hole in the back of his jaw.

Mustering some resolve, Sesshoumaru turned on his heel and stalked away. He needed to separate himself from this situation, needed a clearer head to address this.

He didn't want Rin there, but he couldn't justify why. It wasn't like she was in danger, so he couldn't hide behind that facade. He didn't like her with this youkai for his own selfish reasons and that wasn't enough to make him chase after her.

He would walk away.

A/N:

Woot! Thought I'd add a chapter here too! Enjoy. :)

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

Credits:

_Sesshoumaru:_ Jesachi

_Rin:_ Goldensomething

_Sub-characters:_ Combined effort


	5. Territorial Dispute

~Chapter Five~

Territorial Dispute

She'd been here a month. Perhaps a little longer. The days were moving together now, and she was beginning to lose track. Juro brought her presents often, kept her company, and escorted her to the meadow for flower picking whenever she wanted. She was falling into this new life, doing her best to forget her past one.

Today, Juro was out, and she'd felt such an urge to go picking flowers that she hadn't waited for him to return, she'd left him a note and had gone.

Picking flowers was always when she did her thinking, but she was trying her hardest not to think of Sesshoumaru. She was still mad at him, because he'd left her, and even after a month, he had yet to come find her. He didn't even care enough to see if she had a good life, or if she was dead somewhere, and that made Rin's fingers curl with anger each time she thought of it.

He was so inconsiderate. All those times she'd given him flowers and taken care of him and kept him company, and this is what she got.

Practically fuming now, she began yanking the flowers up and sniffing them forcibly. She had to tell herself to relax, finally choosing to sit down and just... not think.

Of course, she was keeping a better eye out than before, not wanting to tempt a second risky meeting with a bear youkai, but it was nice to be empty and calm for a moment.

She sighed, smelling the flowers slowly, her eyes closed, though her ears pricked. Even if Juro became upset that she risked her life, he'd have to learn that she couldn't be watched at all times like a child. She had spontaneous urges that she couldn't ignore at times.

Rin finally smiled a little, giggling into her flower.

* * *

He hadn't gone far from the field where he had watched Rin and that male youkai she called "Juro-san". Just the sound in his head was enough to clench his teeth and grind them together. He had a perpetually sore jaw these days.

Sesshoumaru had purposely avoided making contact with her. He tried to chalk it up to the fact that she was always with this Juro character nearby and therefore didn't want to tempt himself with the idea of killing that bastard.

But today, he sniffed the air, she was blissfully alone.

His youkai told him this was the day of choice, to ask, no, tell her to come back with him and he would take her away from here, bring her back to the village.

That god-forsaken village.

Something was bothering her. He watched from the shadows of the trees as she ripped flowers out of the ground and threw them away. He had never been one to ask her what was troubling her; usually, she would finally get pent up with her thoughts and ask him what he thought of such and such that she was pondering. Sometimes he wouldn't answer, sometimes he would patiently reply.

She hadn't shared her thoughts with him for a very long time.

Eventually, it looked as though she sorted it out on her own, when she became a little less volatile in her motions. It occurred to him again, for perhaps the millionth time, that he had blinked and somehow, the little girl who loyally followed him around had turned into a remarkable, spirited young woman.

It irritated him that he even noticed.

Gathering some gumption, because even this Sesshoumary needed some personal pep-talking, he strode across the field towards her, his mokomoko-sama trailing behind him like a fluffy cape. His stride was purposeful, though not at all hurried.

"Rin," he called, softly, his voice not rising, a simple, even tone that he used for everything and everyone.

* * *

Rin was on her feet and facing the sound of the voice almost instantly, her hair sweeping out in the wind, her kimono, she'd taken to wearing her kimono again, rippling. Her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. He was so... perfect, to the eyes.

And then her eyes narrowed as she remembered her previous thoughts.

He was only now coming to find her. She could be dead by now. And he didn't even look concerned or in the least bit miffed. He was... cool, collected, unemotional Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru," she replied, her voice mimicking his coolness, which was unusual for her. She dropped the flowers she'd been holding and crossed her arms over her chest.

She looked like a stiffened cat, and if she had a tail, it'd be puffed up right now. She didn't say anything else, partly because she wanted to hear what he was going to say, partly because she wanted to appear aloof, and partly because she had no clue what to say anyways.

Juro returned to his lair to find her gone, and he panicked for a moment, thinking that she'd returned to Sesshoumaru or that he'd come and taken her, but then his scent was nowhere close, and the note left on the table she'd built reassured him.

He sighed, thinking that he'd come quite attached to her, despite her being a human. In no way... sexual or mate-like, but she was handy to have around. Perhaps he could keep her, after he'd disposed of Sesshoumaru. If he was lucky, she would never know.

Juro grinned, heading to the door of his lair, to the field, where he intended to act worried. He might even give her some of the flowers, tuck them in that dark hair of hers.

* * *

He was thrown off a little by her tone of voice, by her cool facade. He even inwardly flinched when she didn't call him '-sama' at the end of his name. It was like looking in a mirror, except he never crossed his arms over his chest like she was doing.

She absolutely reeked of that cougar male she had been fraternizing with lately and it was enough of a stench that he actually wrinkled his nose a little and stopped a few feet away from her. He didn't trust himself to get too close to her lest he wrap her in his mokomoko-sama to rub that disgusting smell off of her.

"You've had enough play time here," he told her, his voice even, a little condescending, "It's about time you come back with me and I will take you back to the village."

* * *

Rin took a step back, telling herself that she shouldn't be surprised or hurt that he was suggesting she go back to some human village instead of asking her to come back to him. Her eyes narrowed and she turned her face away from him, her chin in the air.

"No. I like it here. At least I can feel wanted," Rin told him, her voice losing a little of its coolness. "I am fed, taken care of, and safe. Why does it matter to you if I am here or in that village? I'm still out of the way."

She was still hurting worse than she thought, she realized. She would never talk back like that to him, not so... bluntly. She could be saucy, for sure, but always with a respect to him... right now she wanted to yell at him, but she didn't.

It was very... odd, to be upset at someone you really liked. She wanted to hug and touch him at the same time as scream at him in frustration.

She opened her mouth to say more of her hurt emotions, but suddenly Juro was there, moving so fast her human eyes couldn't follow. He was suddenly in front of her, blocking her from Sesshoumaru and ushering her back.

"Rin, get back from him... he could kill you with one finger," Juro told her, and Rin realized she'd never told him about Sesshoumaru. She blinked in surprise, trying to get around him so that she could see Sesshoumaru again, but he was solidly blocking her view and her movements.

"Juro, it's okay... he's-"

"She's mine... You can't have her," Juro said with a slight sneer to his face. That he knew everything about Sesshoumaru and Rin was hidden behind his perfect facade of protectiveness.

Rin was stunned by the protectiveness. She was stunned into silence, looking up at Juro with wide eyes. It felt... nice, to be wanted. She liked the warmth in her chest... too bad she knew it would feel so much more amazing if it came from Sesshoumaru.

That made her even more mad at her, and she kept silent behind Juro.

* * *

He was hardly going to reason with her, but was about to demand that she come with him and was not above throwing her over his shoulder when there was a burst of movement and the cougar youkai was in between them, pushing a startled Rin back and sneering at Sesshoumaru.

The dog youkai took in the male in front of him with a cool, calculating gaze, his eyes formidable. This male was shorter, stockier. No armor and two silly swords he was positive were stolen. Obviously, this male was no taiyoukai and it was irritating that Rin would associate herself with such a low-class youkai.

"You think some riff-raff like you is going to keep me from taking her back?" he asked with a raised brow, his hand resting on the top of his sword, Bakusaiga. He flicked his gaze over to Rin, who was successfully shielded by this male, "Rin, come."

He neglected to mention that he planned to take her back to the village she had run away from. Perhaps it was because that by leaving that tidbit out, he felt more justified in taking her away from here, from this overly suspicious situation.

"Besides, what would you want with a silly human female? Surely she's little use to you," he added. He knew that he was putting Rin down, because she was anything but useless and she could be rather endearing at moments. But it struck him as suspicious; youkai normally didn't associate with humans, avoided them, in fact. So what would this male want with Rin, who was indeed a human female.

Sesshoumaru didn't intend to stick around and find out. He wanted Rin out of here. And he always got what he wanted.

* * *

Rin took a step back at Sesshoumaru's words hit her square in the chest. Useless? Silly? That was what he thought of her? Rin grit her teeth to keep from crying, because that would just prove him right, and moved even further away from Sesshoumaru.

"Then you won't care that I want to stay here, Sesshoumaru," Rin said, turned her back to both males, walking away from both of them, towards the lair. Juro was still between them, and he grinned a little, barely hiding his triumph, because he knew what Sesshoumaru was here for, but he'd messed it up because of his damn pride.

"Rin clearly doesn't want to go with you, and I'm going to have to protect the lady's wishes. She cares for me and cleans up after me, she is very useful, and very... cute... too," Juro said, knowing he was saying how Sesshoumaru really felt because a youkai wouldn't come back for Rin if he didn't care. And he wanted Sesshoumaru as mentally distracted as possible.

"Rin is mine now. She's my human, and she cares for me... you should leave," Juro told Sesshoumaru in a lower voice, one that a human's ears from the distance Rin was at wouldn't be able to hear. There was more malicious intent behind the words than Juro cared for, but he was almost trembling with anticipation. Rin was walking away, and perhaps that would distract Sesshoumaru enough for Juro to strike... or he would take his advice and turn to leave, and he would strike then.

* * *

He knew he stung her deep and he wished he had the words to explain that he didn't mean it, but more so that he could get rid of the scum who stood in between them.

Though, he supposed he deserved her cold shoulder.

_'You are a callous bastard,'_his youkai reminded him. It had been conspicuously quiet throughout this entire ordeal.

Sesshoumaru turned his eyes away from the cougar male and instead his eyes flickered over to her receding form, her long hair swinging with each step, with each sashay of her hips. She was wearing a kimono he had given her years ago, when she had been smaller and it was getting a little short for her now, riding just above the back of her knees.

It sickened him slightly that she wore that around this lowlife. He itched to wrap his fingers around this male's throat and heave him across the field, lay him open and watch the blood drain from his body.

But he resisted... barely.

"We aren't finished here," Sesshoumaru growled, before turning on his heel and walking away. He knew he should never turn his back on his enemies, but his arrogance and pride allowed him to feel safe in this endeavor.

* * *

Juro grinned victoriously the moment it happened. Sesshoumaru was too occupied by the young girl to think clearly, and with a vicious hiss he lunged for Sesshoumaru, his swords in his hands faster than the human eye could perceive. He aimed them for Sesshoumaru's head.

Rin whirled around in surprise when the sound reached her ears, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw Juro's expression of glee as he went for Sesshoumaru's throat. Her heart almost stopped, and she felt like everything slowed.

She knew in that instant, from the look of recognition, the look of victory on Juro's face, that everything had been a sham. This youkai had been using her to get to Sesshoumaru. And now Sesshoumaru was in danger.

"No! Sesshoumaru, watch out!" She yelled desperately, tripping in her hasted to run towards them, her hands catching her fall as she continued to yell, "Sesshoumaru, behind you!"

Juro ignored her, running at his full speed, pulling the swords higher as he prepared to bring them down in a cross, to decapitate the dog-demon.

* * *

His eyes flickered to the side as he heard the male move, felt his youkai more than his movement. It was Rin's yell that had him whipping around, pulling his sword out and deflecting the two blades that threatened to take his head.

It was a dangerously near miss. Bakusaiga sang as metal hit metal and the cougar was pushed back. Sesshoumaru flipped and landed gracefully on the ground, placing himself between Rin and the other youkai. His stance was tall, his sword held out in front of him and his other arm tense beside him, a warning for her to stay back.

"I thought you were too good to be true," he commented idly, "This whole situation smelled suspicious since the moment I first saw you." this youkai crossed swords with the wrong individual.

Juro made a deep growl that sounded almost like a hiss, eyeing Sesshoumaru. He cursed inside, because without the immediate advantage, he was forced to rely on his skills, which were considerable, but it was a risky endeavor. But he did have an advantage... he didn't care about Rin's safety, and the safety of a mortal female in the middle of a youkai battle was considerable... you never knew when something might go flying at her, or if they were to fall on her in their ferocity.

He grinned savagely at Sesshoumaru, bringing up his swords into a stance that betrayed his ability with the blades. They may look banged up, but the edges gleamed with sharpness, and his steady hands were a sign that this wasn't going to be as quick a battle as Sesshoumaru might think.

"When I've defeated you, I will take the seat of taiyoukai. And I'll probably keep your little human too... she was very good at cleaning and caring for me... she'd be a handy little human slave, once I've organized the youkai from the four-corners of the world to become the dominant species again," Juro grinned, his fangs gleaming in the sunlight.

Rin paled, her hands covering her mouth in horror. She'd been with this youkai for over a month, and she hadn't known at all what he'd been planning. She'd basically handed Sesshoumaru up on a silver plate. And she could do nothing about it.

"Sesshoumaru-sama... please be careful," she told him, backing up, knowing that she could only be in the way. Her heart was pounding with fear for him.

Juro shot forward suddenly, bringing up his swords in a complicated maneuver that would bring one to Sesshoumaru's neck and the other to his gut.

So, the male was more skilled with a blade than Sesshoumaru had originally thought...

No matter. If he wished to rush his death, than this Sesshoumaru would help him meet his maker.

He parried the potentially devastating blow the cougar youkai threw at him, using his poison whip to help him deflect the blades. Unlikely he could be killed by such a silly opponent; Inuyasha was far more threatening than this male and even the hanyou hadn't managed to kill him, but it was the principle of the situation that made Sesshoumaru even consider taking this guy out.

He spun around and flashed his whip out, aiming for the youkai's throat, but the cougar moved his head in the nick of time and the whip only caught his cheek, laying it open.

Sesshoumaru jumped back, "Damn, I missed," he mused out loud, "Next time it'll be your head."

Juro growled again, and the dance of death began in earnest. Rin watched with her eyes wide, her hands clenched in front of her, holding her breath.

Juro was good, even though she was confident Sesshoumaru was better. But still, it was terrifying to see this. Sesshoumaru rarely battle before her, and seeing someone attacking him with death in their eyes was extremely difficult.

Suddenly, when the stalemate fighting had continued for a few moments, almost too fast for Rin to see, Juro changed tactics. Suddenly, he started moving closer to her, pushing Sesshoumaru to fight closer to her, as though she scrambled to back up, they were moving faster than her.

Unable to use Bakusaiga's greatest technique without fear of injuring Rin in the aftermath, Sesshoumaru was confined to ordinary sword fighting, which was exceedingly irritating because he wanted to waste this male and be done with it.

And the block, strike, parry was getting old rather quickly. Before he could begin to contemplate the open soft spots he could attack, the cougar male jumped and dodged him, moving closer to the edge of the field.

Closer to Rin.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru saw her gaze widen and watched as she shuttered stepped backwards, making a valiant yet still inadequate attempt to get out of the way. If she didn't move, she was going to get hit...

It was bold, it was reckless and had he watched his opponent do it, he would have scolded them for caring whether or not a human was cut down in a youkai dispute. But it spiked his adrenaline, a touch of panic, to think that she would get in the way, get hurt or worse, killed, because of something that was strictly between him and another male.

So he dropped his guard, took his eyes off his enemy for the briefest of seconds to push her out of the way. It cost him though. The back of his leg burned when the sword sliced through it, tripping him a little so that he stagger stepped to get his balance back. His neck would have been next if he didn't duck down in time, instead little tuffs of silvery white hair floated around where the cougar's sword just missed him.

Literally, but a hairbreadth.

Sesshoumaru jumped back, putting himself once again between Rin and the cougar youkai. One leg of his kimono was slowly becoming darker and darker as his blood dripped through the material.

"Come near her again and I will be more serious about sending you to hell, you bastard," he growled low, menacingly, his eyes flashing red in anger and warning.

Juro felt a touch of panic. Yes, he'd managed to wound Sesshoumaru, but instead of making him weaker, he seemed inflamed. And as much as he had an advantage... he didn't have enough of one.

Rin was stumbling back even more, her wide eyes now glued to Sesshoumaru's bloodstain. Juro could see the guilt and pain in her eyes, and he could see the way that Sesshoumaru was orienting himself around the girl.

Perhaps...

Juro lunged at Sesshoumaru again, bringing up both swords, but at the last moment, he flipped away from Sesshoumaru, using a burst of speed, and landed squarely behind the human girl. She'd been too focused on Sesshoumaru to watch out for Juro.

The more Rin was in danger, the less attention Sesshoumaru devoted to fighting. Now he would put the most danger on Rin, and he would be the victor, because he suspected that Sesshoumaru loved the human girl, even if he was unaware of it.

Juro brought up one blade to her white throat, pinning her back against his chest. His other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her still in case she decided to fight, his grip tight under her breasts.

"Move, Sesshoumaru, and she dies. It would be very easy to take her head off..." Juro told Sesshoumaru, smelling Rin's hair with relish as the girl squirmed a little, pale but her eyes snapping with anger.

"Juro, you bastard of a youkai, let me go!" Rin snapped, squirming even more. She abruptly stopped when the blade pierced her flesh, even just a little, causing a line of blood to run down her collarbone and between her breasts. She winces and threw her head back in surprise, her eyes flashing up to Sesshoumaru's as she froze. Pain, slight but stinging, flashing through her nerves, and her fingers went cold.

"Don't move, little cat... I don't care for your human life any more than I do for Sesshoumaru's..." Juro told her, licking her temple with a grin. His eyes flickered back to Sesshoumaru.

"Surrender, or she dies. You can't move fast enough to kill me before I take her head... or nick her artery enough that she bleeds to death," Juro said, tightening his hold on Rin and not relinquishing the pressure to her neck.

Sesshoumaru froze stiff still like he had never been stiff before in his life. He could practically taste the fear she was permeating through to him with that one staggering look, a simple flicker of her eyes up to meet his.

_'This is bad, this is real bad..._' his youkai growled, _'You're fast, but not even you are fast enough to kill that guy before he lays her open.'  
_  
_'I know,'_Sesshoumaru growled back, but outwardly, he remained cool and collected, as always.

He watched the trickle of blood travel down her neck before it absorbed into the soft material of her kimono. He had smelled her blood before, but never had it made his heart stop beating in his chest like it was now.

"Fine," he finally resigned, flicking his hand up and sheathing his sword, "Kill her, if that's what you want," and he turned and started to walk away.

Under his armor, tucked in the shoulder, was a small knife. He didn't remember why he had put it there, perhaps in case he ever got into a stick, but considering this Sesshoumaru would never find himself in such a situation... well, needless to say, the weapon had never moved.

He pulled it out now though, discreetly, as he was turned away from the youkai and Rin. Then, he spun around and whipped the small dagger out of his fingers with such a velocity that it buried itself hilt deep between the cougar's eyes, killing that bastard instantly. It missed Rin by barely a finger span.

The youkai's body dropped away from Rin like a wet sack of rice, the sword slipping from her neck and falling with a thud and clatter to the ground.

* * *

A/N:

… I got nothing…

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

Credits:

_Sesshoumaru:_ Jesachi

_Rin:_ Goldensomething

_Sub-characters:_ Combined effort


End file.
